Inspector Banks Books in Order
Peter Robinson has written 34 Inspector Banks books, published between 1987 and 2023: 28 in the Inspector Banks series and 6 related titles. The first book is Gallows View (1987) and the newest main-line book is Standing in the Shadows (2023). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 34
- Published
- 1987–2023
- Confirmed
- 34 of 34 titles
- Pages on record
- 10,335 in 26 of 34 books
- Reading time
- 172–258 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 10,335 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 26 of 34 titles with a page count on record.
Inspector Banks is a police detective in England, and Peter Robinson's procedural series takes the name. Gallows View (1987) opens the run, which continues through A Dedicated Man (1988), A Necessary End (1989), Past Reason Hated (1992), Innocent Graves (1996) and In a Dry Season (1999) to Standing in the Shadows in 2023. Murder investigation and kidnapping recur as subjects, 34 books are catalogued, and the series has been dormant since 2023.
How many Inspector Banks books are there?
Inspector Banks has 34 books, released between 1987 and 2023. 28 of them belong to the Inspector Banks series, and 6 related titles sit outside it: short stories and novellas.
Inspector Banks Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 34 Inspector Banks books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 119872563/4
- 219883523/4
- 319894163/4
- 419893243/4
- 519923843/4
- 619923523/4
- 719943203/4
- 819964003/4
- 919973683/4
- 1019994683/4
- 1120004353/4
- 1220015023/4
- 1320024513/4
- 1420033543/4
- 1520043963/4
- 1620064303/4
- 1720074243/4
- 182008–3/4
- 192009–3/4
- 202009–3/4
- 21The Price of Love: And Other StoriesInspector Banks Short Stories/Novellas #32009 · 618 pages · confirmed 3/420096183/4
- 222009–3/4
- 232009–3/4
- 242010–3/4
- 2520124163/4
- 2620133973/4
- 2720143843/4
- 282015–3/4
- 2920164323/4
- 3020173363/4
- 3120184163/4
- 3220193843/4
- 3320213203/4
- 342023–3/4
Inspector Banks Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the books of the Inspector Banks series run from Gallows View (1987) to Standing in the Shadows (2023), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Inspector Banks in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.
Do you have to read Inspector Banks books in order?
You should read the Inspector Banks series in publication order, the order of the numbered table above; the 6 related titles (short stories and novellas) sit outside that sequence. The catalogue does not record whether each Inspector Banks book also stands alone.
What order should you read Inspector Banks books in?
Read them in publication order, starting with Gallows View (1987), the earliest published book in the Inspector Banks series. After it come A Dedicated Man (1988), A Necessary End (1989), The Hanging Valley (1989) and Past Reason Hated (1992); the numbered table above continues from there.
What is the newest Inspector Banks book?
Standing in the Shadows (2023) is the newest book in the Inspector Banks series.
Is there a new Inspector Banks book coming?
No next Inspector Banks book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards Inspector Banks has won
Wikidata records 4 awards and 5 nominations for Inspector Banks. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Best Crime Novel in Swedish Translation2001Wonfor In a Dry Season
- Grand Prix de Littérature Policière2001Wonfor In a Dry Season
- Anthony Award for Best Novel2000Wonfor In a Dry Season
- Barry Award for Best Novel2000Wonfor In a Dry Season
- Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award2009Shortlistedfor Friend of the Devil
- Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award2008Shortlistedfor Piece of My Heart
- Hammett Prize2004Shortlistedfor Playing with Fire
- Hammett Prize1999Shortlistedfor In a Dry Season
- Hammett Prize1996Shortlistedfor Innocent Graves
Inspector Banks at a glance
- Paused
- No new main-line Inspector Banks title has appeared for 3 years. The last was Standing in the Shadows (2023).
- Release pace
- Inspector Banks books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 10,335 pages across the 26 of 34 books with a recorded length, a median of 396 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Inspector Banks books, 13 of 34, were published in the 2000s.
What the Inspector Banks books are about
26 of the 34 Inspector Banks books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: banks, alan (fictitious character) is tagged on 18 of 26. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Banks, alan (fictitious character) 18 of 26 books
- Mystery & detective, police procedural 17 of 26 books
- Alan Banks (Fictitious character) 14 of 26 books
- Police 14 of 26 books
- England 13 of 26 books
- Murder 10 of 26 books
- Investigation 8 of 26 books
- Mystery & detective, traditional 7 of 26 books
- Crime 5 of 26 books
- Mystery & detective 5 of 26 books
- Suspense 3 of 26 books
More books by Peter Robinson
The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.
- Peter Robinson books in order 49 books